「Broken Compass」The Soterice Trials 「Trial I」

"The Blade Of Thieves" -Prelude-

Chapter 25

Panic seared through Hoku's mind.

Cards, gears, and shards of broken glass whirled around him, ensnared in a violent vortex under fleeting streaks of gold.

The cards drifted near slowly before slicing through the air at blinding speed, their edges gleaming like razor-sharp blades.

Hoku's breath came in ragged gasps as the tunnel resonated with the harsh grind of metal, interspersed with the subtle snaps of cards closing midair.

He clawed at the empty space, desperately seeking something to anchor himself.

'How many more of these hells must I crawl through?!'

Hoku was ensnared in a maelstrom of hallucinations, bombarded by flashing images.

With each phase further, the visions multiplied, morphing erratically, akin to the rapid flipping of a picture book's pages.

Unfathomable landscapes unfurled before him: a castle engulfed in flames, its fiery reflection dancing upon molten waters; a forest of gnarled trees stretching endlessly into the void.

Gritting his teeth, Hoku forced his focus back to the cards.

It dawned upon him that they weren't random.

Patterns had emerged: knights galloping through distant battles, jesters grinning with eerie glee, queens whose painted eyes tracked his every move.

A lone ace of spades brushed his shoulder, splitting apart and scattering embers that seared his skin.

He hissed, clutching the burn as more cards materialized from seeming nowhere, and rearranged before him.

Hoku suddenly recalled the prototype puzzle from the study, the combination mirrored these suits.

Though he'd only glimpsed it, a fragment of the order lingered in his memory.

Hoku's sanity frayed as the passage constricted, pressing upon him, his body contorting under the force.

His gaze fell upon a golden wheel suspended above a visible chamber.

Massive and intricately carved, it blazed and turned slowly like a gear orchestrating the elements.

The air grew frigid as the scene veered further into chaos. Abruptly, the cards disintegrated into dust, frames, and fragments dissolving into motes of light.

The golden wheel spun faster, unraveling into a tangled mass of threads before vanishing, leaving an empty void.

Caught between fear and resignation, Hoku pressed his lips into a tight line, squeezing his eyes shut.

Suddenly, the tunnel expelled him, and cold air slapped his face, forcing its way into his lungs.

He wheezed and coughed, struggling to steady his breath.

Before he could regain composure, his body broke through a translucent barrier of moisture and plunged into a shallow pool.

The liquid glistened as his knees struck, sending ripples skimming across the surface.

Hoku gasped for air, his hands pressing against a pile of slick, uneven stones.

The cacophony of chaos overhead faded, replaced by a stifling quiet.

His jaw hung open as he stared across the water.

Once he regained his breath, he pushed himself upright, wincing as his arms trembled under his weight.

The water had receded, revealing jagged rocks protruding like the teeth of a stream.

"Augh! Damn! My knees—" He pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, battling the harsh ache sweeping through his legs.

Hoku winced, and mumbled quietly, "Is this what I get for smirking at that two-faced bastard? I didn't even laugh at him."

Testing his knees, he bent them slowly, feeling the persistent throb. The pain was sharp but manageable; scrapes and bruises, nothing more.

Drawing a steadying breath, he murmured, "It'd be stranger if no one laughed after seeing that."

He ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed, flipping the loose strands back over his shoulders.

Hoku quickly began to take in his surroundings.

Mist clung to the air, diffusing the pale light that filtered from above. Directly ahead, an open shrine loomed.

The shrine's architecture was eerily familiar, reminiscent of the structures beneath Abel's astrapie, yet considerably small in standard.

It appeared to have been carved from luminous stone, accentuated by the surrounding moisture. 

A shaft of light flowed in from the cavern ceiling, lighting the center inside of the shrine.

Hoku staggered, his legs quivering under him.

He heard water dripping from his robe and grimaced at the fabric clinging to his skin.

Hoku grasped the sodden hem of his robe, lifting it with both hands. As he twisted the fabric, water cascaded down, each droplet catching the eerie light emanating from ahead.

He shivered, barely perceiving the cold, as something invisible scraped at his nerves.

Releasing the damp cloth, it fell heavily against his legs. He took a tentative step forward, the soles of his boots pressing into the ancient stone steps that circled the shrine's base.

Upon making his way closer, to where the light spread across the surface, his eyes immediately narrowed onto a faint outline of a shape etched into the ground beneath him. 

At first glance, it appeared to be a random arrangement of smooth stones.

But as he focused, the pattern coalesced into a disturbing symbol, causing his stomach to churn with a mix of dread and recognition.

A star with four deliberate points that was identical to the one he had seen on the mural.

His eyes traced its edges until he spotted something gleaming in the middle.

'The compass…?'

Hoku's hands twitched at his sides.

"This thing…" he muttered with a low voice. 

He reached out and picked it up, flinching before his fingers grasped the edges.

The metal was cool to the touch.

After lifting it carefully, he turned it over in his hands. 

It looked exactly as it did before, unchanged by the destruction he thought it had endured. 

He stared at it, as his mind raced, but eventually, he took a deep breath and tucked the object into his robe.

As he did, he noticed, almost absently, that the cloth he had wrapped it in was gone, but swiftly he pushed it aside.

Suddenly, a sound broke the silence, it was small and metallic, like a gentle chime. 

It echoed from within the structure, pivoting Hoku's gaze again. 

The shrine's columns stretched high into the cavern, their surfaces adorned with faint, unrecognizable markings. 

A wide archway framed its entrance, shadows pooling just beyond.

As Hoku walked slightly past the center, under the columns, something else caught his eye. 

There were droplets of water suspended in midair. 

His eyes widened as he examined them, and a question crossed his mind, 'Why do things seem to keep repeating themselves in different ways here?' 

One that hung just above the ground, trembled faintly.

He moved his arm higher and scratched the back of his head, then, he crouched and extended a finger.

"Floating droplets again... That makes twice now."

Hoku narrowed his eyes in confusion and tilted his head slightly. "Twice, I've consciously descended into places and then lost consciousness."

As his skin touched the droplet, it released a clear, resonant note. Instead of bursting, it splintered into smaller drops.

Hoku blinked and reached for another.

It also broke apart, creating a second note higher than the first.

Soon, a strange, tentative melody began to form as he poked them each.

Suddenly, the air grew still, and the droplets ceased their movement.

They quivered violently before shooting upward through the columns, ascending above the shrine.

Once clear of the center, each droplet intensified under the light, gleaming brightly like tiny stars.

Lines formed between each, spreading across to resemble raindrops accumulated in a spider's web.

Hoku folded his arms across his chest and hummed suspiciously, 'Now, it has been twice that I've seen 'stars' display these unexplainable patterns.'

The shapes grew in complexity, composing a bright web, almost like a map of constellations.

Near the end of the massive web, an outline slowly emerged, seemingly building an anomaly within the spiral pattern as it stacked from behind like a misplaced node.

"Could that be…?" Hoku muttered, straining his eyes.

'A sword?'

To be continued…